It was time to say goodbye to the Volcano hotel, and move on to the last phase of our vacation.
Before we left, we walked over to an old ruined homestead next door to do some urbanish exploration.
After we finished exploring the ruins, we next went to the observation point where we had watched the northern lights before, in order to see it during the day. We also wanted to stop by the endless black sand beach to collect some sand to take home.
The point indeed had a pretty nice view, but it become clear there was no direct way to get to the beach. Instead, we decided to drive up a nearby cliff to see the view from the top.
The road up the cliff was a super steep switchback, which was fun but also terrifying to drive up, and the parking lot at the top seemed to be right up against the cliff edge with no barrier. Not anxiety educing at all!
Worth it for the view though.
Around the corner was revealed the big arch we had seen from the previous black sand beach. It was quite majestic from up close, and a big surprise, since we didn't realize this was the viewing point for it.
As it was starting to rain, we started making our way back to the car to get our journey properly under way.
As we made our way back to the main road, we paused while driving through an inland lagoon thing so Wally could collect some of the Iconic Icelandic black sand.
After acquiring sand, we began our journey towards Keflavík in earnest. The first stop along the way was Skógafoss, the biggest waterfall of the trip.
Jackson decided to climb the cliff to the overlook above, while Wally and I proceeded towards the splash zone.
after Jackson rejoined us after a grueling climb up the cliff, he wanted to rest for a bit, so Wally and I went back for another round.
We decided to make out dampness someone else's problem by eating at the nearby restaurant.
In a strange coincidence, Wally had randomly desired Italian food earlier, and they just so happened to have it here.
I had Fish cakes with rice and curry, and then some carrot cake for desert
The next stop was Seljalandsfoss, which is the waterfall you can walk behind.
TODO: add 20221029_151619,mp4, filesize too big
The last waterfall of the trip was Gljufrabui, which was a waterfall I had not seen before, but was a short walk from Seljalandsfoss.
We arrived at the waterfall, and took a look around at the surrounding area. There was a small cave, and a path that led to not the waterfall.
The waterfall was located in a cave, and to get to it you had to wade through a creek. I tried to make it by stepping along the tops of rocks, but I failed and ended up ankle deep in the water.
Despite falling in the water, this was the coolest waterfall I had seen so far, and definitely my favorite of the trip.
Wally had accepted his fate from the start and just rolled up his pants and waded in. I honestly wish I had just done the same.
After making our way out of the cave, we dampily squelched our way back to the car.
We used the bathroom stalls to change into dry clothes as best we could, then headed on to the nearest charging station in Hvolsvöllur.
While we waited for the car to charge, once again we went into the nearby gas station to get snacks. We also briefly contemplated getting slippers to wear instead of our soaked shoes, but they would have gotten pretty nasty with the black sand everywhere, plus they were really expensive.
Wally and I got another hotdog. They really are far tastier than they have any right to be.
We arrived at the guest house and checked in without too much trouble. The room was pretty cramped, but we can make do.
We decided to go out for food / drinks at a random bar, since it would be a waste to go straight to sleep.
There were several other people at the bar dressed up for holloween, including a person dressed as The Joker, some inmates, and a nun.
We talked about weird mental stuff the mind does, and other parts of the human condition.
I had some fancy hot chocolate, Lamb skewers, and some Weird hazelnut Skyr goop, that was one of the most delicious things I ate in Iceland.
We talked until the bar was closing, and then headed back to the room.